


Arigato

by Anisita1



Category: Naruto, Sasuxsaku - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad English, Drama, F/M, Love, Minor Violence, Ninja, Obsession, Romance, Sexual Content, sasuxsaku - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23266141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anisita1/pseuds/Anisita1
Summary: A great sacrifice by Sakura before the fourth ninja war leaves Sasuke devastated. When there is no longer hatred or rancor in your heart, but only pain, what would you be willing to do to alleviate it? How far would you travel to find it? - A ninja world, however alternate. AU. SasuSaku.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Arigato

_You are annoying..._

Those words still saddened her. Not because of the fact that he’d expressed them to insult her... but because of the meaning behind it.

When the three of them still made up the dynamic team seven, that phrase had become rather a mark of distinction between Sakura and Sasuke. Unlike the first time the Uchiha had said such harsh words to her, the rest of the time he’d done it in a burlesque and friendly way. They represented everything positive that he couldn't deliberately tell to the pink-haired one. And she was happy, because they belonged only to them.

But, in a cruel twist of fate, Sasuke had chosen to use that phrase with her when he decided to leave the village. Sakura had tried desperately to hold him back, trembling with fear at the prospect of never seeing him again. She’d believed that he was, if not happy, at least content having them as friends, because Naruto and Sakura really felt that way, they’d found a balance within the group despite their differences. They’d learned to respect and recognize each other's feats.

That’s why she felt so hurt when he downplayed each of these moments together, every anecdote the girl told him. She knew Sasuke was only pretending. That he was trying to detach himself from the feelings he had for them, for her... because although these feelings were perhaps minimal, they did not allow him to turn and face her because he knew that his imperturbable armor would falter.

She declared his love once more, promising him in the process that she’d ease his sorrows... and make him happy...

You really are annoying...

He said it with a slight smile that didn’t reflect a bit of joy. And then, she knew in that instant that he was saying goodbye to her, forever.

Sakura was sure that he’d listened to her, that he, deep down, wanted everything but to leave the village that saw him grow up and where he’d been able to start a family again. Where he felt loved and attached to them.

And still, despite that, he was gone. Quietly muttering a Thank you and nothing more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Naruto yelled at her that he hated people who lied to themselves. With that, he made it clear that he hadn’t swallowed the words that Sakura prepared so far in advance. After that, each one went on their ways without even saying goodbye. But the medical ninja knew that it was necessary to lie to the blond to hide her intentions. That was for the best... the nations were at war and his former teammate was wanted as a criminal and a murderer.

And that last word echoed in her mind. _Murderer_.

She closed her eyes imagining the young man taking someone else's life. Was it in self-defense? A ninja? A criminal? An innocent?

Suddenly she wanted to cry and quickly wiped away the droplets that ran down her eyes. She looked up at the sky wondering if it wasn't a curse, instead of a blessing, to love him so much. Her feelings had even affected Naruto, who believed he was indebted to her for failing to bring Sasuke back to Konoha three years ago. That was what Sai had told him. And it made sense. She was selfish ... she always was.

So it was time to put an end to the burden she had placed on her friend.

In her hands was the solution.

As they got closer to her goal, Sakura kept remembering the moments they’d shared together as team seven. She preferred not to take breaks in the mission since these memories were increasingly recurring. She kept busy going over jutsus or ninja techniques, however sometimes her mind traveled without her permission and she found herself remembering that night that she tried to prevent Sasuke from running away.

You really are annoying...

After Sakura was sure no one was watching she covered two of her kunais with a poison solution. She’d studied and improved Sasori's formula, making it painless. Now, the unfortunate person who fell under its deadly effects would not suffer.

Carefully she put the now poisoned weapons back in her pocket. Behind her, the group she was traveling with rested around a campfire. Kiba, Akamaru, Lee and Sai exchanged a few words and occasionally laughed softly

Sakura approached the group and leaned her shoulder on the tree next to her. Someone offered him a hot drink. The pink-haired watched the flames in front of her, surrender to its natural swing, bright and warm which remind her of the Uchiha’s fire jutsu.

It was close to meeting him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She had a vague hope that after meeting him again, her doubts would grow. That she would not have the strength to carry out her mission.

But what she’d seen left no room for that.

The young and stoic Uchiha, the one that she loved so much and who’d believed incapable of hurting a defenseless person, in addition to having protected her on several occasions... was piercing at that moment, with a chakra spear, his teammate in the quest to defeat the current Hokage: Danzou.

Horrified, Sakura watched the black-haired man enjoy killing

tha man and head now to end the life of the young woman who was lying on the

ground.

The pink-haired kunohichi was unable to move. She trembled with fear at the thought of facing SAsuke... but then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and left her hiding place to finally face her fate.

Sakura calculated that by now, Kakashi-sensei and Naruto were already aware of her plans. Time was against her and if she did not hurry she’d have them there at any moment.

She peered closely at him, and was afraid of what she saw. Before her was a man with a cold, deranged gaze who did not take his eyes off Sakura. There was rancor in those eyes, the thin line of his mouth seemed tightly closed.

Sakura jumped in fright when he spoke.

-I want you to kill her ...- he pointed at Karin with a finger - It is no longer useful to me. If you want to come with me, you will have to...

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She blinked rapidly so that the tears wouldn't fill her eyes. Was this the same Sasuke she’d known? The one who said goodbye to her with an expression of infinite pain that night several years ago ...?

Was it really him?

"Yes ..." was the only thing she muttered as she approached the red-haired girl. Her legs felt so heavy making it difficult to walk. By the time she turned her back on Sasuke, she knew what was going to happen. Even though they’d been apart for a long time, she knew the young man. In fact, it was logical that he tried to attack her from behind. However, knowing that didn’t reduce the pain of knowing that he wanted to kill her.

Nimbly, she dodged the chidori's powerful attack and ended up walking a few meters away from him incredulous and hurt at what he just did. Sasuke stood immutable, his hand giving off those bluish rays. Sakura swallowed a bit, then thought about Naruto, thought about Konoha, her family, and her friends.

_"My voice ... doesn't reach him anymore ... His eyes ... don't see me ..."_ she said to herself regretfully.

She raised her clenched fists to the height of her chest, putting herself in a defensive position. She had to wait for him to attack her first and then study his blind or weak spots. Then Sakura would be able to act. She thought about the poisoned kunais and calculated how long it would take for a person to die. If she was right, it’d take longer with Sasuke, since he’d developed an immunity to different kinds of poisons. But not this one. Not the one Sakura had made with samples of the one Sasori had created. Sakura had perfected it so well that the victim didn’t suffer, but also to make it more lethal.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sasuke was fatigued, that was more than obvious. He was breathing hard and at times his right eye closed as a rest.

There were stone rubble everywhere caused by the blows that Sakura had made. Throughout the fight, Sakura had devoted herself to dodging the black-haired guy's attacks and now the two of them breathed wearily while still looking at each other.

He mumbled something and smiled wickedly, she couldn't hear him, but she supposed it was nothing positive.

Until this moment, the pink-haired woman had had at least three occasions to hurt Sasuke with her kunai. But she hadn't done it, hesitantly, she regretted it at the last moment. And now that they’d momentarily stopped their fight, she could think clearly. She looked down and saw the fluffy white clouds reflected in the lake where they stood.

Sakura shook her head trying to clear any doubts and ran towards him with her fist raised. She delivered one, two, three direct hits, but the Uchiha protected himself by placing his arms in front of him. Seeing that the girl would try to deliver one more blow, with a movement of his bloody eyes, he activated the _Susanno_.

The pink-haired girl was astonished to see that giant purple mass. It looked terrifying and she barely dodged the huge fist that tried to crush her. However, as soon as that appeared, it vanished amid a cry of pain from his former partner. He fell to his knees in the water, putting a hand to his bleeding eye.

"This is my chance" Sakura ran in the direction of the young man without allowing the doubt to emerge. Sasuke didn't notice anything. Being a few meters away from him, she raised her arm with the kunai in hand.

But she couldn't do it.

She was struck by reality in a way that left her breathless. She stopped in front of him, her hand trembling and a plaintive sob escaped her

throat.

The tormented girl began to cry. The tip of the weapon was almost on Sasuke's forehead, however, it wouldn’t advance further. She loved him so much that she was unable to take his life.

He stood up, watched the scene, and snatched the kunai from Sakura. Without a word, she backed away when she saw that he had no doubts. Sasuke had waved the weapon against the kunoichi and she had dodged it. He wanted to kill her. It was that simple. Sasuke had no contemplation like her. She thought about escaping from there because what was the object of facing someone you couldn't kill? Catch him? Take it home?

Sakura looked up everywhere looking for a sign to tell her if Naruto or Kakashi-sensei were close, but she didn't detect anything.

Sasuke started walking towards her. He did it calmly; her gaze was determined, full of hatred. Sakura parted her lips to speak, but couldn’t pronounce anything.

"Don't do it ..." she whispered at last, as she quickly moved away from him. Sasuke followed her. They climbed some trees; she was trying to lose him. And just when she thought she succeed, the figure of a man came out of nowhere and delivered a punch that knocked her off the tree. He took her hands from behind and made her kneel down. She tried to get away but that ninja had her subdued.

From the shadows Sasuke appeared, scruffy, wounded. The woman yelled for them to stop. She struggled and managed to free an arm. However, the mysterious figure fractured the kunoichi's left leg in one swift motion. She broke into a cry of pain as she fell to the ground.

"Now she won't go anywhere, Sasuke, finish her" the girl could see that a mask covered that guy's face. His voice was calm and cold. As if he was discussing something of no importance. Sasuke watched him angrily.

“Don't you dare to tell me what I have to do, Tobi”

The pink-haired girl crawled out trying to get out of his reach. Her back touched the smooth surface of a stone and she rested on it as she watched Sasuke approach.

Was he going to kill her? Would she die there, far from home and from the hand of the man she loved?

Despite everything, Sakura was still thinking about his welfare. Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and her friends would never forgive Sasuke. They’d fall into the circle of hatred that already held the Uchiha captive. So Sakura decided to do the only thing she could in that situation. If killing him was out of the question, then it must be the opposite. With one trembling hand, she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, while with the other she reached for something in the pocket that hung from her belt.

"Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s useless. Nothing will save you, Sakura" the man was already in front of her, looking at her from above and noting that underneath the white cape that covered Sakura's body, she was rummaging for something. She had an expression of pain due to her broken leg. She looked up at him and her big green eyes let two small rivers flow, her lips were slightly parted.

"It's not your fault, Sasuke-kun ..." she gasped. Her lower lip began to tremble. Sakura poured the contents of a small jar onto the grass beside her. The Uchiha suspected that it was an antidote, but to what for? "I always... to you ..." he didn't let her finish. He took her by the collar of his cloak and lifted her up. She let out a groan and closed her eyes in pain.

"Now you will die, Sakura ..." His hand lit up with the bluish light that emitted fine rays and the sound of a thousand birds.

"I know..." she answered weakly and he saw that she narrowed her eyes. After that, Sasuke heard something fall to the ground. He looked down and saw a kunai. This caused the Uchiha to frown suspiciously and made the chidori disappear. Then, he fixed his eyes on Sakura again.

Her green eyes no longer saw him and his head was tilted slightly forward. She seemed to be trying to say something, yet for some reason she couldn't articulate a word. Sakura's lips were moving but only babbling came out.

Still and after a moment, she was able to mumble something in a breathy voice. Dry tears made a trail on her cheeks that made her look pitiful, languid and pale.

“ _Arigatō…_ *”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He had become so used to the darkness of his cell that when he was brought outside, the rays of light hurt his eyes, even though they were covered by a thick black mask. He had a slight idea of where they were going; the guards pulled him to walk more quickly, causing his feet to stumble several times, injuring his toes when hitting steps and tiles because he did not know the terrain. However, all this was justifiable for the guards of the place, who kept him tied hands and held tightly by the arms. After all, he was a criminal who have a strong Kekkei Genkai and it was dangerous that he was walking around with his eyes uncovered.

After a few minutes walking, they entered an unknown place. The black-haired man realized that they were in a room with a lot of people inside, he knew this from the type of sounds he heard.

"Uchiha Sasuke," exclaimed a deep male voice, "You are before the court of five nations. We will debate the terms of your probation, at the request of the Leaf Hokage. This is the fifth and final opportunity to appeal on your behalf to The council, after this meeting there will be no more to discuss whether or not you are a danger to humanity. You will go out or stay forever in prison. That is what will be discussed today. Do you have something to say in your favor?"

He was silent as he shook his head. He could hear some fuss from those present. Someone started listing all the crimes the young man had done so long ago. He listened carefully and each word injured his ears.

"...Assassination of Shimura, Danzou; Assassination of Uzumaki, Karin ..." A small spasm ran through his fingers as he remembered Karin's face that fateful day. That was the most difficult thing about these meetings, to listen everything he had done ... to remember it ... and not being able to do anything to prevent it from hurting.

That was the punishment he deserved, to always remember the faces of ... His jaw clenched as they mentioned their latest, horrendous crime.

They paused, perhaps waiting for him to say something, however, the black-haired man remained silent and crestfallen. The hands lay tightly gagged behind him and the feet the same way, only allowing him to make the necessary movement to generate a step, but restricting a longer stride.

"Having heard the charges for which you were convicted, how do you consider yourself today?"

"Guilty" he did not hesitate to answer that. And no one made an attempt to contradict him. 

Later, they continued listing the reasons why he should remain locked up. Almost everyone agreed. Except for two people. He recognized their voices very well despite the years that had passed. One of them was the Kazekage, the other the Hokage.

"Members of the council of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Kages, feudal lords, it has been fifteen years since the goddess of creation and destruction, Kaguya, was defeated" began the defense by the Hokage "Also Madara, and those involved in the Tsukuyomi Infinity, it is my desire to remind you that Sasuke Uchiha helped win..."

As the Hokage listed all the beneficial actions the renegade ninja had performed, some let out murmurs and sounds of disapproval. When he had finished, a female voice hurried to speak.

"Kakashi, you know that _he_ has the Rinnengan in his possession, which must be constantly monitored to avoid any misuse...-

"And so it will be done, Tsunade-sama, as always. If Sasuke Uchiha is released I will take care of him myself..."

Then, she exclaimed reluctantly: "Like his former sensei, you know we couldn't be entirely sure that your judgment will not be clouded by your… ”

"The other kages will have him on watch as well. If you don't trust me you can exclude me from whatever seal you want to apply to him. The point is that Sasuke's abilities can be useful to us, plus here it is someone who has always advocated for his release...”

The murmurs increased in volume and quantity. Someone ordered them to be silent.

"I’m Uzumaki Naruto" upon hearing that voice, Sasuke couldn't help but let out a slight nonconforming snort for the first time. What was he doing here? Sasuke had been certain that once again he would be found guilty and that he would return to that cold, dark cell to pay for his sins. That'd been decided before, and that's how he wanted it. He was not interested in leaving his prison.

He still felt hatred, and it was towards himself.

"I came here today to ask you to release Sasuke"

"You have never been interested in coming, Naruto ..." Again, the voice of the previous Hokage was heard, the Uchiha knew that she was there as a counselor. 

Along with other members, she had attended each of the past meetings to discuss her parole, and at each of them, she had shown herself to be a strong opponent of his release.

Sasuke had never applied for parole, but Kakashi and Naruto did, five times in fifteen years. The reason the blonde had never attended one of them was because of the black-haired man's explicit wish. He knew that if Naruto ever interceded for him, they would release him.

But this was the last chance to appeal and Naruto had stayed away all this time hoping that the grudge against his friend would dissipate from the hearts of the jury. But that had never happened. And it wouldn't happen if he didn't do something.

Sasuke Uchiha clenched his fists and lowered his head. Although his eyes were covered, he knew that all eyes were on him. He had not yet paid for his sins, he never would. It wasn't right to even consider releasing him.

An image came to his mind instantly, a lifeless young girl with pink hair in front of him. His eyes closed tightly under the cloth that covered them.

_To be Continued-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, how are you? It has been a long time since I published anything, especially about this couple. I hope you find this story entertaining, suddenly the idea came to my mind after seeing the chapter where Sasuke left Konoha. I know it may seem strange to you guys, after all, Sakura is dead and there is no way a sasusaku couple can exist, but I promise that there will be.  
> Another thing, this is my first fic in English, as many of you have notice, so I’d really appreciate your constructive criticism, since I do not have someone to guide me in writing.  
> I hope you let me know what you think, if you think the idea is crazy or not. Thanks for taking the time here, really. See you soon!
> 
> Anisita.


End file.
